Competent Management and the Productive and Egalitarian Utilization of Laguna Lake

May 1, 1982

LETTER OF INSTRUCTIONS NO. 1239

WHEREAS, Letter of Instructions No. 769 ordered among others the stoppage of construction and immediate demolition of illegal fishpen in Laguna Lake area;

WHEREAS, thousands of families, lakeshore dwellers, duckraisers and small fishermen, have been adversely affected by illegal fishpen operations;

WHEREAS, Laguna Lake is a limited natural resource requiring judicious management and utilization to ensure renewability and continued ecological balance;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby direct the following:

1. The Chairman of the Laguna Lake Development Authority in coordination with the Minister of National Defense, the Minister of Natural Resources and the Minister of Labor and Employment shall ensure that LOI 769 which provided among other immediate stoppage of construction and demolition of illegal fishpens, removal of all types of obstacles to navigational lanes, river outlet and natural flow of lake waters, be strictly and effectively enforced.

2. The Minister of Labor and Employment through the Bureau of Rural Workers, shall assist lakeshore dwellers, duckraisers and small fishermen to form their own associations for mutual help and protection and the development of livelihood programs for their benefit.

3. The Minister of Labor and Employment in coordination with the Chairman of the Laguna Lake Development Authority shall formulate a scheme aimed to democratize the management and ownership of fishpens, ensuring the participation of lakeshore dwellers, duckraisers and small fishermen in the development of the lake. cd

4. The Chairman of Laguna Lake Development Authority shall cause the installation of specific markers of the fishpen belt in the Lake as soon as possible to ensure enforcement of rules and regulations governing fish enclosures.

DONE in the City of Manila, Philippines, this 1st day of May, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Two.